Should agencies use tracking devices for youth offenders?

Across the country, youth offenders are wearing tracking devices as an alternative to detention facilities. The ankle monitors are part of a house arrest program that allows authorities to keep tabs on offenders. Since being implemented in Mississippi, 130 offenders have worn the trackers and officials say the initiative is working.
WTOK reports:

"For first time offenders, those who are brought in and they just need a second chance, I think it works very, very well," said Terrence Roberts, YET, Detention Alternative Director. "For those who are hardened and think, 'I'm just going to do what I'm going to do,' it may not work as well. But what it does is provide evidence that, 'Here I am at this location doing this crime."

Mississippi is not the first state to use ankle monitors to keep track of its young offenders. Georgia has used the monitors for awhile, as has Washington. And now a county in South Dakota is considering implementing them into their juvenile justice system.
Meanwhile, the Juvenile Justice Reform and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment group on LinkedIn seems to be split about this practice. What do you think?

*Photo comes from the CMPD Monitoring Program webpage.
 

Liz Wu is a Digital Accounts Manager at Prichard Communications, where she oversees digital outreach for Reclaiming Futures and edits Reclaiming Futures Every Day. Before joining the Prichard team, Liz established the West Coast communications presence for the New America Foundation, where she managed all media relations, event planning and social media outreach for their 6 domestic policy programs. Liz received a B.A. in both Peace and Conflict Studies and German from the University of California at Berkeley.